Washing machine



y 1958 c. o. RASMUSSEN 2,833,135

WASHING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1955 s Shets-Sheet 1 7 6 Fly. 7

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y 1958 c. 0. RASMUSSEN 2,833,135

WASHING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. 0. 4 2mm,,

BY: 55 I it? v AW y 1958 c. o. RASMUSSEN 2,833,135

WASHING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENTOR. 1(4) E6 WASHING MACHINE Christian Oskar Rasmussen, Copenhagen, Denmark Application November 25, 1955, Serial No. 549,113

4 Claims. c1. 684) The invention relates to improvements in a washing machine, more particularly, acombined Washing machine which is capable of washing and drying the clothes alike.

It is the object of the invention to provide a convenient washing machine which by means of simple devices can be used both for washing clothes and for centrifuging-the clothes after they have been washed.

It is a furtherobject of the invention to provide awashing machine which occupies little space and is readily operated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a washing machine consisting of simple devices so that it can be manufactured at low cost in mass production and is reliable in operation.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a niteci States Patent washing machine which, when used for centrifuging, is

noiseless and smooth in operation without heavy vibrations.

It is finally the object of the invention to provide a washing machine in which a Washing operation and a centrifuging operation can alternately be performed in the identical container by a simple exchange of a few components and with maximum effect at either process.

Various embodiments of a washing machine in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a washing machine, t

Figure 2 is a centrifugal brake,

Figure 3 is a top view of the driving mechanism with the cover removed, t

Figure 4 is an agitator with appertaining coupling and bearing members,

Figures 5 and 6 show various embodiments of the bearings for a centrifuge.

Figure 7 is a modified embodiment of chine, viewed from the side, partly in section,

Figure 8 is a section on the line VIIIVIII of Figure 7,

container is open at its top and provided with a cover 3,

to which is attached a casing 4 for a gearing by means of supporting legs 5. To the casing 4 is attached an electromotor 6 with a commutator 7 and a centrifugal brake 8. p

As will appear from Figure 3, the motor 6 moves a worm 9 which, firstly, is in mesh with a worm wheel 10 on a vertical shaft 11 which is mounted in the casing 4, and, secondly, is in mesh with a worm wheel 12 attached to a shaft 13 which is likewise mounted in the casing 4. Beneath the casing 4 the shaft 13 isprovided with an arm 14 which is rotatably connected with a connecting rod 15 which, as shown in Figure 3, is rotatably connected with an arm 16 attached to a bush 17. The said bush 17 rests in a hub 18 attached to the cover 3, and the shaft 11 is rotatably mounted in the said bush. The lower end of the shaft 11 is provided with a conical part 19, and at the lower end of the bush there is a member 20 of polygonal cross-section, for example, as an octagon. Y

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By means of the aforesaid gearing the shaft 11 may be rotated by the motor 6 through the worm 9 and the Worm wheel 10, and through the Worm 9, the worm wheel 12, the arm 14, the connecting rod 15 and the arm 16 an alternating rotary movement will simultaneously be imparted to the bush 17. Since the worm wheel 12 is substantially larger than the worm wheel 10, the alternating movement of the bush 17 will be substantially slower than the rotary movement of the shaft 11.

At the bottom 2 is mounted a column 21 supported by a foot 22 and having a cylindrical supporting member 23 at its upper end, the upward-facing surface 24 of the said supporting member having the form of a ball socket, whereas a flange 25 is provided at the lower end. The

' supporting member 23 carries a centrifuge 26 the central part of which is designed as a conical tube 27 having a circular bulb 28 projecting inwards and to which a disc 29 is attached. The disc 29 is provided with a plate 30 of hard steel which is contacted by a steel ball 31. The

said ball is retained in its central position by a cover 32 which is attached to the disc 29. The ball 31, which has a substantially smaller radius than the ball socket 24, rests on same and may rotate freely about its centre and also roll on the surface of the ball socket. On the upper side of the disc 29 is attached a staying member 33 embedded in a rubber block 34 at the opposite end of which a coupling member 35 is embedded. The coupling member 35 has a. bore of conical shape conforming to the conical part 19 of the shaft 11, and as will be seen from Figure 1, the shaft 11 can be coupled to the centrifuge by means of the part 19 and the bore in the member 35, the conical surfaces of which act as a friction coupling.

Beneath the supporting member 23 the shaft 21 has a rotatably mounted wheel 36 provided with a peripheral rubber ring 37 of a diameter somewhat smaller than the inside diameter of the tube 27 at the place where the wheel is located.

a washing ma- When the motor 6 is started, the rotation of the shaft 11 will be transmitted to the coupling member 35 and through the rubber block 34 to the centrifuge, which is then rotated, the ball 31 rolling on the surface 24 of the ball socket. The centrifugal forces produced owing to the uneven distribution of mass in the centrifuge are balanced in the way that the ball runs out on the ball socket surface, sideways from the axis of the column 21, where the ball, in addition to rotating about its own centre, will i move in a circle about the axis of the column 21. The

deflections of the ball in relation to the axis of the shaft 11 are rendered possible by the resilience of the block 34, and any vibrations occurring will also be damped by the said block. The wheel 36 serves to support the centrifuge in case of excessive deflections, thus constituting a kind of bearing for the centrifuge which is located at a distance of the ball hearing. The conical surfaces of the shaft 11 and the coupling member 35 constitute as mentioned a friction coupling which permits a certain amount of sliding so as to facilitate starting and provide a braking eflect when the motor is stopped and the centrifuge, owing to its inertia, continues rotating.

The Washing machine disclosed in the drawing is adapted to alternately using a centrifuge and a washing agitator, the latter being shown in Figure and denoted by 38. The agitator is provided with vanes 39 and has at its lower end a hub 40 the inside diameter of which conforms to the outside diameter of the supporting member 23 so that the said member may constitute a bearing for the agitator. The end surface of the hub 40 forms a shoulder which may rest on the flange 25. Beneath the hub 40 there is another hub 41 connected with the vanes 39 and-having a diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the wheel 36.

forming to the cross-section of the part of the bush 17, and theagitator can thus be moved by the bush 17, the two polygonal parts constituting a coupling. The bore in the hub42 is sufiiciently deep to permit the shaft 11 to freely rotate inside same.

The machine may readily be converted from a washer to a centrifuge, or reversely, by removing the cover 3, whereby either the centrifuge or the agitator will be removed too, whereas the column 21 remains, and the washer andthe centrifuge having been exchanged, the cover is replaced on the container, the hub or the ball 31 being placed on the supporting member 23.

Since a universal motor with commutator will-preferably be used, the speed of the motor will be accelerated when centrifuging, since the load Will decrease as soon as the mass is agitated. In order to relieve this drawback, the motor is provided with a centrifugal brake 8, shown in end view in Figure 2 and consisting of a cylinder 4.3 attached to the motor casing and a disc 44 attached to the motor shaft. The disc 44 is provided with a slideshoe 45 capable of rotating about pins 46 and subjected to the action of coil springs 47 tending to prevent the slideshoes from swinging away from the centre. T he slideshoes have some cylindrical surfaces covered by friction matcrial 48 such as leather, and the surfaces are located'close to the interior surface of the cylinder 43 when the motor is stopped. The slideshoes are furthermore provided with supporting pins 49 which prevent the springs 47 from drawing the slideshoes in the indicated position towards the centre of the cylinder 43.

By adjusting the slideshoe mass, the area of the friction surfaces and the tension of the springs, a definite braking effect corresponding to the maximum speed permissible is obtainable. When the motor drives the agitator, the load will be sufiicicnt to prevent the motor from acceleratmg.

Figure 5 shows a modified embodiment of the bearings between the tube 27 of the centrifuge and the column 21. Instead of the rubber block 34 there is provided a coil spring.50 connecting the bush 35 with the disc 29.

Figure 6 shows a modified embodiment, in which intermediate rnembers 51 of resilient material, for example, rubber, are inserted between the supporting member-23 and the tube 27, the said intermediate members substituting the members 36, 37 in Figure 1.

In the embodiment disclosed in Figure 7, the shaft tube bit 17 is provided with a vane or a rotor 52 servingto produce currents in the washing water when the machine is used for washing. The driving mechanism, denoted as i a whole by 53, is in this embodiment adapted in such manner that the shaft :tube is capable of rotating at a comparatively great speed which, however, is less than the speed of the shaft 11. The column 21 mounted on the container 54 is detachable.

The aforesaid embodiment may have a cylindrical, stationary container 54 as shown in Figure 8, and inside same may be provided a plurality of guide vanes 55 projecting obliquely into the container. i

The machine according to Figures 7 and 8 are used in the following manner: Durihgwashing operations the centrifuge 26 and the column 21 are removed and the outer container 54 is filled with washing water and clothes to be washed. The vane wheel or the rotor 52 is rotating, and owing to the ribs or grooves provided in the wheel, currents are produced in the liquid. In order to prevent these currents from making a sheer rotation about the axis of the container, the said guide vanes 55 are provided along the sides of the container, and these guide vanes will deflect the liquid currents and directthem towards the central part, whereby there will be a more effective flow of liquid through the clothes.

The said guide vanes may be dispensed with if the container is made of a different design, and this is disclosed in Figure 9 in which the container 56 is of square crosssection. As a result, currents performing a rotating- 4 movement around the axis of the container are avoided, the corners of the container 56 acting as guide vanes and producing eddies in the Water.

When the washing operation has been completed, the clothes and the washing water are removed and the centrifuge 26 is mounted on the shaft 11, after which the washed clothes are deposited in the centrifuge. The rotation of the shaftll will cause the centrifuge 26 to rotate, and the clothes will be dried by centrifuging. During the drying process the shaft 17 and with it the van wheel 52 may join the rotation, but the driving mechanism 53 may also be adapted in such manner that .the movement can be changed from one shaft to the other.

In the embodiment disclosed in Figure 10 the two driving shaftsare staggered in relation to each other, the driving shaft 11 for the centrifuge 26 being still in a central position in the washing container, whereas the other driving shaft whichcarries a vane wheel or a rotor 52 and is denoted by 57 is disposed in one side of the container as shown in the drawing. In this embodiment the driving mechansm 53' is designed in such manner that the motor 6 is capable of driving both the shaft 11 and the shaft 57,

either simultaneously. or each of them separately, and at different speeds. Incidentally, the machine is used in the same way as'described with reference to Figures 79, but the form of the container 58 is not so important since the concentric mounting of the vane wheel or the rotor involves less risk of concentrically rotating currents.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A washing machine comprising an upright container having an open top, a'removable cover for closing the open top of the container, a column mounted at the bottom of the container, a centrifuge, a driving mechanism mounted on the cover, said mechanism including two downwardly projecting driving shafts independent of each other, a driving motor, means operatively connecting the driving motor to the two driving shafts so that said shafts may rotate at the desired speeds, means on one driving shaft for attachment of an agitator, coupling members on the other shaft for mounting the said centrifuge in readily detachable manner, and means for mounting the said centrifuge on the column.

2. A washing machine as claimed in claim 1 with said 2 driving shafts mounted co-axially inside each other, one

1 of said shafts consisting of a tube for mounting said agitator, and the centrifuge being mounted on the inside shaft.

3. A washing machine as claimed in claim 1, characterized in the provision of a central tube in the centrifuge, and said means for mounting the centrifuge on the column comprising a ball accommodated in the upper end of said tube which rests on a spherical bearing surface at the upper end of the column extending through the tube, a resilient member being inserted between the ball and the coupling member.

4. A washing machine as claimed in claim 3, characterized in the provision of buffer means on the column to thrust against and guide the tube in the centrifuge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 330,345 Pedersen Nov. 10, 1885 1,603,757 Farrell Oct. 19, 1926 1,665,714 Noble Apr. 10, 1928 1,995,926 Kirby Mar. 26, 1935 2,057,277 Parsons Oct. 13, 1936 2,095,370 Reamaet al. Oct. 12, 1937 2,310,950 Goldman Feb. 16, 1943 2,361,767 Hays, Ir. Oct. 31, 1944 2,406,187 Bayless Aug. 20, 1946 2,499,533 Sohlberg Mar. 7, I950 2,561,257 Woodson July 17, 1951 2,700,286 Vap Ipe Ian. 25, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 930,866 Germany July.25, 1955 

